Fat and/or oil is often used in any cooking process, for example in frying. Food products may already contain fat and/or oil. During cooking, oil may be absorbed by the food product. For example, frying is a popular process in food preparation. In particular, during frying, oil is absorbed by the food products. Managing the fat and/or oil content of food products is desirable. If the fat and/or oil content is too high, the food products may be too greasy or oily and appeal less to the consumer, especially since consumer trend is towards increasing health and nutrition awareness, with a preference for reduction of fat and/or oil in food products.
EP 0607002 relates to a process of preparing potato chips by blanching in a boiling mixture which includes gellan gum, followed by frying, conventional oven cooking or microwave oven cooking. The potato chips may then be frozen and later reconstituted in a microwave or conventional oven.
WO 2008/015652 relates to a coated fabricated snack piece substantially covered with a coating comprising a gum selected from alginates, cellulose derivatives, gellan, xanthan, arabic, pectin and mixtures thereof. The coated snack pieces are then fried.
EP 1900289 relates to a process of producing potato products having a low fat content by blanching potato slices in a solution comprising divalent cations at a temperature of 40° C. or more before frying and deoiling the potato slices.
Although attempts of reducing oil content in fried food products have been reported, there is still a need to develop improved processes to further reduce oil content during frying.